Queens bus hijacker indicted on kidnapping charges

NEW YORK - A man accused of using a pellet gun to hijack an MTA bus in Queens last month was indicted Wednesday on charges including kidnapping, grand larceny, robbery and more.

Dwayne Gaddy, 44, is accused of boarding a Q4 bus on 197th Street and Linden Boulevard in St. Albans on October 27, telling the driver he was being chased.

Authorities say Gaddy, who was behaving erratically, pointed what turned out to be a pellet gun at the driver, who slammed on the brakes and opened all the doors to let all the passengers get off.

Soon afterward, the driver jumped out of the window of the moving bus near 232nd Street and Linden Boulevard in Cambira Heights. The gunman tried to take control of the bus, but ultimately crashed into a utility pole about a block later and stopped. Gaddy was arrested immediately after the crash. 

"If not for the quick-thinking bus driver remaining calm and collected under pressure, the outcome would have been far worse," said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. "We cannot allow confidence in our public transit system to be undermined and will not let this brazen lawlessness go unanswered in Queens County. The defendant has been charged accordingly and faces justice in our courts."

Gaddy has been charged with second-degree kidnappings, second and fourth-degree grand larceny, three counts of second-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a weapon.

If convicted, Gaddy faces up to 25 years in prison.

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